Sling Adapter and Dish Remote Access Desktop App Workaround

The new Sling Adapter for Dish Network is cheap ($99), easy to install, and works great, but it’s not as full featured as a SlingBox. If you have an Android smartphone you can get the free Dish Remote Access app from the Android Market, and iPhone users can get it from the App Store. While I’ve read the iPhone app has a few issues, I can tell you the Android app is top notch, but that’s not really what this article is about. You’ll have to jump through a few hoops if you want to watch TV with Sling Adapter via Dish Remote Access while surfing the web, or working online.

One quick workaround is to just use your phone as a TV. Have a horizontal desktop phone dock? Just plug your phone in, and start watching. Don’t have a dock? Plug it in, and prop it up. This is a bit of a half baked workaround since your phone is after all a phone, and you might want to use it to make a call, check email, or send a text.

Hello there. When it comes to the Sling Adapter and Remote access; let me just say I love it! I work for DISH so getting a first hand look at the Sling and Remote Access is an amazing thing for sure. I would recommend it to anyone. Chris.

Christopher, as a Dish Network customer, I second that. I just wish Dish would create some sort of desktop app. Though, I have to admit the more I use my phone while working at the computer I like it better than I would a desktop app anyway. It’s like having a tiny TV sitting on my desk.

Chris, sounds like you are close to the product. Just got mine and works fine on every computer I have tried except one. All inside my home network. It is a HP Touchsmart running VISTA. I can see content on DVR and grid, when I go to watch program, error “Unable to connect to your sling box (2). Try again later.” Any ideas?

I too have the Sling Adapter & hope for a desktop app. This would ideally work the way the Directv app works where it doesn’t have to go outside your home network. Since I have a much faster LAN than WAN, it would allow HD viewing on any computer inside my network. Currently, I have to set it to “Better” in order to avoid video issues. Even then, the audio doesn’t always stay synced. Also, I have a (theoretical) 16gb monthly data limit. I noticed it pulled over 4gb a few nights ago for about an hour’s worth of viewing. Continued use of the in-browser internet feature would eat up that allottment quickly.

I also get the error about being unable to connect to the Sling Box every time I take the same computer to another internet connection, even one that is using the same provider as my own. Are there any ports on a firewalled router that must be opened to allow the Sling Adapter connection? I don’t know that the router at the other location is firewalled, but I’m looking to rule out specific issues. Thanks!

Joel, don’t quote me on this, but it seems I read somewhere to view Dish Remote Access via PC, the PC needs to be on the same network as Sling Adapter. If you’re on a mobile phone you can use an app to view it wherever you go. If this is correct, it makes even more sense to have a desktop app, especially for laptops. I’m in a bit of a rush right now, but I’ll look into this, and get back with you.

That would make sense given the problems I’ve had connecting from anywhere but my home network; however, that would contradict Dish’s claim at http://www.dishnetwork.com/tveverywhere/slingadapter/customer.aspx that you can “Watch live or recorded shows in High Definition on your computer’s browser or mobile device anywhere you can connect to the Internet.”

So far the sling adapter seems to work great with my VIP722 and my iMac. My one complaint (and it’s a BIG complaint) is that there are NO video controls at all when you’re watching in full screen mode and there are no key commands and the computers remote doesn’t work with the player either. When watching in full screen you have to hit the ESC key if you want to pause, adjust player volume, rewind, fast forward, etc. This is ridiculous and a horrible user experience problem. The good news is the adapter itself works great – the bad news is that the web based player is extremely lacking when it comes to usability.

I recently purchased the sling adapter and 722K DVR receiver from Dish Network and had them installed. However, when I go to my Dish Network account on my computer and log in to Dish Remote Access my programming menu comes up and I can select a show but it will not allow me to watch the show on my computer, it changes the channel on my tv instead. When I try to use it on my HTC Droid Eris phone, it tells me “Cannot locate slingbox. Please make sure that you entered the correct Slingbox ID and that your slingbox can connect to the Internet. I had the tech here at my house for a whole day and could not figure out what the problem is. Please help….

Hi, Shelly. For your first problem, make sure when you are on the Dish Remote Access site that you choose “watch online” instead of “watch on TV”. There is a dropdown menu with the option to watch now, and if you select watch on TV it will change your channel instead of playing the video on the web. I’ve made this mistake myself a time or two.

For your second problem look for the Dish Remote Access App in the Android market. Make sure it’s from Dish, and not Sling. It sounds to me like you’re trying to use the Sling Player app vs the Sling Adapter App due to the error message “cannot locate slingbox”. Remember, you do not have a sling box, you have a sling “adapter”. I hope this works for you! Let me know how it turns out.

UPDATE: At last, I finally got the Sling adapter to work outside my network! The key is to forward ports 5101 and 5102 (TCP and UDP) in your router. This advice was given on a dishsupport forum, and it did the trick. What a relief!

Well, i am glad to hear someone is getting satisfaction out of this service. I have repeatedly contacted tech support for help in figuring out why i can not view my dvr content online. They told me it was the browsers i am using. They told me IE does not work and to use Firefox 3.4. Anything newer than Firefox 3.4 does not work. Not sure what the problem is. I dont think it is on my end. I suspect that they have done something on their end that does not allow viewing. All was good in the beginning but it has since gone to pot.

I set up the sling adaptor last night and tried to access with my driod. The best I could do was to change channels, record and see the guide. When I went too watch it came back with the unit must be connected to the internet and phone. All that was connected and updated and the best tech support could come up with was the adaptor needed updating. Tried it this morning but no luck. Not impressed with tech support or product.

Erika, I’m not sure why they would tell you I.E. doesn’t work. If you look at the screenshot on here you’ll see it’s working fine under I.E. 9. I can also tell you it does work with Firefox 4 beta, so I’m not sure who you talked to, but that information is incorrect.

I set up the sling adaptor last night and tried to access with myIPhone 4. The best I could do was to change channels, record and see the guide. When I went too watch it came back with the unit must be connected to the internet and phone. when I’m on WiFi, it don’t work on 3G at all.

I get this evey time i try to see my DVR from my Iphone. yes my DVR is on the network. its like it does to sleep and can’t wakeup.

You have attempted to access a feature that requires your receiver to be connected to your home broadband network. Please ensure your receiver is currently connected to the Internet. If you are still experiencing issues, please try the following steps on your receiver:

I recently added a Sling adaptor to my 722. It works great with my iPad and computer but not with my phone. I have a Dell Streak Android phone with the Dish software. The problem is that no matter what show I choose in the guide, the show that is shown is whatever I was watching last on my iPad or computer. The channel will not change. It will not let me watch anything recorded on the DVR.

To verify it wasn’t a problem with my phone I tried it on friends phones, Droid, Droid X, Droid Incredible, EVO, and an EVO 4G. All had the same problem. Is anyone else having this problem with the Sling adaptor and Android?

Error code 36, 2.
it worked great last night with 722, and worked great into work today.
it just stopped working on laptop and android phone.
Called tech, rebooted twice. no luck.
honeymoon is over enjoying sportscenter into work.
now what!
help!

When I try to watch a movie on my ipad it says, Low bandwidth. Your iPad does not have a fast connection to your Dish Receiver, and this may impact video quality. Please make sure your iPad and your Dish Receiver have a fast connection to the internet. I have a wireless router hooked up to my computer, but I think the problem is that there is a brick fireplace blocking power to the sling adapter and receiver. My Geek added a Powerline 85 Adapter kit, but It still doesn’t work. Am I going to need to hardwire it through the attic. We could move the receiver and sling adapter to another TV down the hall, but then we won’t recevie HD on our 55 in. TV in the den.
Help, please.

Been trying to get my sling adapter to work at my cottage from home…I can watch it at work with the exact same modem running at slower internet speeds…I can also watch it at starbucks and panera bread….why won’t it work…ive even tried plugging it directly into my modem….motorolla sb5101

I just got a sling adapter installed. It does not work. When I choose watch online, it says video loading. In lower left, it then shows authenticating… recieving stream… Then it just sits like this forever.

When use online inside my car, less than a mile away with my ipad I couldn’t watch in HD.
I could only get SD and was very blur.It say: Low bandwidth, your ipad doesn’t have a fast connection to your Dish receiver. Made the ipad and Dish receiver have a fast connection to the internet. I don’t know much about computer. Could any one tell me how to made the ipad and Dish receiver have a fast connection to the internet?
Tanks

I have fiber optic connection with wifi at 18 mbps download and 5 mbps upload (checked via speediest).Dish 722 with sling adapter streaming to my iPad 2 always says low bandwidth (fluctuates from 300 to 1800 kbps according to dish meter) and will eventually stop working. Anyone else have the problem? Is there a defect in the sling adapter?

Yes, I’m having the same trouble as everyone else with a Droid Bionic. It works on the computer but not on the Droid. All I can do is see the channel guide and record on DVR but not watch live. It gives me an error saying that it appears that my reciever is not hooked up to the internet, but it is. Tech support was no help. Hope they get this fixed soon. I have 4G now and would like to use it.

Just replaced my dish 722 receiver & remote control – got a sling adapter to watch dish remote access on my android lg optimus 5. The sling connected and worked great on my mainframe(windows 7) and wife’s laptop, but that’s not why I got the sling – could not get the phone to connect to the receiver with the market ‘dish remote’ download after numerous attempts. ‘Chatted with tech’ support three times today. Their conclusion: will have to file a report concerning the app since all their efforts failed. They could give me no time frame about this issue. I chatted with a 4th dish person and have made arrangements to return the sling adaptor since my main purpose in getting it was to watch dish on mobile. I’m very disappointed because of hours of wasted time and dish network’s failure to be more proactive in solving the droid/dish problem. It should have been a slam dunk since all of my equipment including internet is functioning properly . Dish shouldn’t make claims about droid that aren’t true.

I have purchased the sling adapter and hooked it up to my 722 receiver from Dish. I have a Droid X from Verizon and downloaded the Dish Remote access. I can view live tv on my phone but I can not view the guide or see my recordings. I can view my timers and the only channels I get on my guide is a few latin channels and I don’t know what to do. I have been working with dish and they keep telling me they will send it to the technician. I have reset everything after 2 months of allowing them to work on it and still the same problem. Any thoughts. Thanks

I just hooked up my sling adapter and went to watch on my iPhone. I have full 3G signal and still can barely get 150kbps! Is this a issue with my Internet service at home?? I have Windstream 3Mbps service. Should i go up to 6 Mbps, or is that just as good as the sling adapted will work with the iPhone app.

I have dish online and am having trouble . Error 36 comes up when I try to watch on my laptop . It says connection was made but interrupted . Dish says everything on their end is okay . Ive had it three weeks and it worked for the first two weeks . Kind of confused

Got the dish HD Dual DVR (722 i think?) with slingbox . When I view my DVR from my Iphone 4, several times I have gotten this message..You have attempted to access a feature that requires your receiver to be connected to your home broadband network. Please ensure your receiver is currently connected to the Internet. If you are still experiencing issues, please try the following steps on your receiver: message

After deleting the app on my iphone and reloading, it works well but what a pain. Also a big problem is when i’m viewing the DVR from my Iphone my family can not watch the TV in the living room. Viewing on a remote device totally disables TV 2 viewing from the home unit. Tech is coming to put the Dual DVR in the living room and TV2 will now be in the bedroom which is less used, wish I understood that at initial setup of Dish network.

Ok, I hooked sling adapter up and it worked fine for a while. Then I get this when I open the app on my iphone:
You have attempted to access a feature that requires your receiver to be connected to your home broadband network. Please ensure your receiver is currently connected to the Internet. If you are still experiencing issues, please try the following steps on your receiver:

I’ve contacted Dish several times. It shows it is connected at home to my internet so it isn’t my internet, but Dish seems to be unable to solve the problem. The app comes and goes and is very unreliable. Anyone else having this issue and a resolution?

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